The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 220: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE 19] And here the voice of the young princess was lost in sobs as she murmured the two names. ‘Oh, heavens! this is terrible, terrible! ’’ exclaimed the Princess Sophia, clasping her hands. ‘“ Now you can understand my sorrow, and you can sym- pathize with me,’’ said the unhappy young Princess Char- lotte. ‘“‘ That I should be compelled thus to speak to you concerning your own mother and your brothers — ”’ ‘Is scarcely so dreadful,’ interrupted the Princess Sophia, “as for you, my dear niece, to have learned so much evil of your own father. But pray proceed. Frightful as the narrative is, I am nevertheless impelled by a mournful interest to hear it all.” ‘“T have already told you,’’ resumed the Princess Char- lotte, ‘‘ that this conspiracy has been progressing for years. You are aware — of course you are — that in 1806 certain erave and serious charges were made against my poor mother. I was only ten years of age at the time, and was too young to know what was going on; but still I knew, even then, that my poor mother was unhappy, for when taken to see her at Blackheath, I noticed, child as I was, that she cried bitterly, very bitterly. You know, my dear aunt, that thecharges made against her at the time of which I am speak- ing all fell to the ground; not one could be maintained. They were the basest fabrications, the vilest inventions of calumny. This I have of course learned only within the last few years, but it was reserved for this day’s incident to reveal to me the astounding fact that those charges, made against my poor mother in 1806, resulted from the schemes of the conspirators whom I have named.” ‘Oh, surely you must be labouring under some terrible misapprehension! ’’? exclaimed the Princess Sophia, contem- plating her niece in dismay. ‘No, all that I am telling you did I glean from the dis- course which took place between the queen and Mrs. Owen this morning. But that is not all,’’ exclaimed the Princess Charlotte, with another powerful and painful effort to subdue a passionate outburst of those feelings that were struggling to find a vent. ‘‘ At this present moment Mrs. Owen’s three eldest daughters are engaged in carrying out the schemes of the conspirators, and it is because the young- est daughter, Mary, recoiled in horror from the same de- ) CoOnniclooolkks (C(O)